John Chapter 9

John 9. This is one of the few chapters that deals with only one event, so we can focus on it today.

The disciples' question in verse 2 seems very offensive, but it was the prevailing thinking of the day. If a person had any physical disability or infirmity, it was widely accepted that the person had brought the ailment upon himself or herself by sinning in some way. Jesus freely associated with such people, which was radical acceptance for the time. He touched the untouchable, ate with the unclean, and generally broke the social rules for pious Jews. In this story, not only does Jesus engage this man, but he heals him. Healing him of his sin-caused infirmity would be interpreted not only as restoring his body, but also granting forgiveness; Jesus was taking away the punishment for his sin or that of his parents. And not only does he heal him, but he intentionally does so on the Sabbath day, when nothing that constitutes work is allowed for pious Jews. Jesus is intentionally breaking the rules that have come to define godliness to his peers, but the action he chooses to engage in while rule-breaking is both miraculous and merciful. He is creating a heart vs. rule-keeping dilemma so that he can teach about the true nature of the Kingdom of God.

John Ortberg has written the classic sermon/article on this subject entitled, "Why the Disciples Wouldn't Wash Their Hands." He notes that although things like circumcision, Sabbath-keeping and dietary regulations were not the heart of the law, they had become big deals in first century Israel because they were clear external identifiers of religious devotion. "Narrowing religious devotion to the boundaries is a constant temptation for people of faith," Ortberg says. "Those who take following God seriously want to believe...that it makes them different. And if they are not becoming manifestly more loving, they will almost inevitably find some markers to prop up their belief that they are different." Jesus challenges this in John 9 by being loving in a way that violates the marker of Sabbath-keeping.

What are the indicators of a life transformed by Jesus Christ? At the Springs we call them the Core Competencies, particularly the Core Virtues: things like love, kindness and faithfulness. It is sobering to think that, instead of allowing the Spirit of God to generate these things in our lives, we often choose to be weird as evidence that God has made us different. Here's a partial list of markers we've used:

• don't smoke, drink, cuss or chew, and don't go out with girls who do.
• fish bumper stickers.
• development of our own language, combining the King's English circa 1611 with Deep South slang, including interesting uses of the word "brother" and saying Jesus in 3 syllables.
• large, conspicuous Bibles.
• anything (anything) with the word "Christian" attached to it. Christian music, Christian art, Christian clubs, Christian radio and TV, Christian diets, Christian businesses, Christian camps, Christian sports teams, Christian books and magazines, Christian theme parks, etc.
• conversely, avoidance of anything with the word "secular" attached to it; this is generally anything that does not have the word "Christian" attached to it.
• certain haircuts and clothing styles; generally, if it's at least 30 years old, it's more righteous than anything current. Christians were champions of the polyester suit and the beehive hairdo about 30 years after they were trendy (when of course they were not suitable for the righteous).
• living in the compound: Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night church, plus Tuesday night prayer meeting, and Thursday visitation (is visitation a real word?).

This is one of those places in John's gospel where it's easy to depict a current-day scenario. Jesus heals AIDS patients on Sunday instead of going to church. Jesus skips evangelism training and hangs out with potty-mouthed construction workers, Democrats and other seedy characters. Jesus turns Welch's into wine. Jesus has dinner at your lesbian neighbors' house. The list could easily go on. Jesus refused to allow weirdness to identify the righteous. He intentionally broke weirdness rules every chance he got. He insisted that righteousness be defined by the heart, and he lived it. His followers, he said, would be distinguished by the love they had for each other. They would be his body, his living representation in the world, continuing to do the things he did and refusing to do the things he refused to do.

What weirdness markers have you adopted? Does Jesus step on your toes in John 9, as he did the Pharisees and as he does mine? Is love, particularly toward fellow Christians and marginalized people, significant evidence of our devotion?